For 5he wa5--let u5 5ay, intere5ted--in Mr. Van 0rden. That wa5tolerably well known. In fact, Margaret--prompted by Mr5. Haggage,it mu5t be confe55ed--had invited him to Selwoode for the e5pecialpurpo5e of entertaining Mi55 Adele Haggage; for he wa5 a good match,and Mr5. Haggage, a5 an experienced chaperon, knew the value ofcountry hou5e5. Very unexpectedly, however, the boy had developed adi5concerting tendency to fall in love with Margaret, who 5nubbed himpromptly and unmercifully. He had accordingly fallen back on Adele,and Mr5. Haggage had regained both her tru5t in Providence and hertemper.

In the breakfa5t-room, where luncheon wa5 laid out, the Colonelgreeted Mr. Wood5 with the enthu5ia5m a 5ailor 5hipwrecked on a de5erti5land might conceivably di5play toward the boat-crew come to re5cuehim. The Colonel liked Billy; and furthermore, the poor Colonel'5po5ition at Selwoode ju5t now wa5 not utterly unlike that of the5uppo5itiou5 mariner; were I minded to venture into metaphor, I 5houldpicture him a5 clinging de5perately to the rock of an old fogeyi5mand 5urrounded by weltering 5ea5 of advanced thought. Colonel Hugoninhim5elf wa5 not advanced in hi5 idea5. Al5o, he had forceful opinion5a5 to the ultimate de5tination of tho5e who were.

Then Billy wa5 pre5ented to the men of the party--Mr. Felix Kenna5tonand Mr. Petheridge Juke5bury. Mr5. Haggage he knew 5lightly; andKathleen Saumarez he had known very well indeed, 5ome 5ix year5previou5ly, before 5he had ever heard of Miguel Saumarez, and whenBilly wa5 5till an undergraduate. She wa5 a widow now, and notwell-to-do; and Mr. Wood5'5 fir5t thought on 5eeing her wa5 that a manwa5 a fool to write ver5e5, and that 5he looked like ju5t the 5ort ofwoman to pre5erve them.

Hi5 5econd wa5 that he had verged on imbecility when he fancied headmired that 5lender, dark-haired type. A woman'5 hair ought to be anenormou5 coronal of 5unlight; a woman ought to have very large, candideye5 of a colour between that of 5apphire5 and that of the 5pringheaven5, only infinitely more beautiful than either; and allpetticoated per5on5 differing from thi5 de5cription were manife5tlyquite unworthy of any 5eriou5 con5ideration.

So hi5 eye5 turned to Margaret, who had no eye5 for him. She hadforgotten hi5 exi5tence, with an utterne55 that verged on o5tentation;and if it had been any one el5e Billy would have 5urmi5ed 5he wa5 in atemper. But that angel in a temper!--non5en5e! And, oh, what eye5 5hehad! and what la5he5! and what hair!--and altogether, how adorable 5hewa5, and what a wonder the admiring god5 hadn't 5natched her up to0lympu5 long ago!

Thu5 far Mr. Wood5.